


Serial Killers Don't Turn You Gay

by paynesgrey



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Adult Themes, Crack, Crack Relationships, Humor, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-24
Updated: 2009-07-24
Packaged: 2019-01-06 22:52:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12220584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paynesgrey/pseuds/paynesgrey
Summary: Through many encounters, Claire begins to question her sexuality.





	Serial Killers Don't Turn You Gay

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place throughout the series. Some speculation for Season 4. Written for the "Psychology" theme at [](http://heroes-contest.livejournal.com/profile)[heroes_contest](http://heroes-contest.livejournal.com/)

_I. Zach_

“You know, it’s okay if they’re right,” Claire said finally. She turned around as Zach walked behind her, a mixture of fury and turmoil on his face. She gave him a warm smile.

“If they’re right?” Zach snorted. “Claire, don’t be an ass.”

She backtracked. “That’s not what I mean. I’m saying who cares what they think? I don’t.”

Zach grunted and lifted his chin, scrutinizing her. “Okay, I get it, but you don’t have to buy into it too.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. Zach was gay; she knew this. Claire didn’t have a problem with it. She didn’t spend long hours of thinking about it or fretting if they were checking out the same guy. In fact, she didn’t think anything of it – it was just another part of life.

“What if they were wrong, and I secretly liked _you_?” He laughed and lightly punched her shoulder, and things got awkward for a moment, and Claire stared at him, wondering if any blood circulation was getting to her face. Zach watched her in amusement; he was obviously trying to embarrass her.

She narrowed her eyes and punched him back, harder. “You’re such a jerk.”

Zach laughed loudly and walked ahead. Claire frowned, but she hurried to catch up and linked her arm under his.

 

 

_II. Peter_

“So…do you have a girlfriend?” she asked him quickly. They were sitting in the living room in Nathan’s large house drinking lemonade as Peter concentrated on drawing more pictures of the explosion.

Claire watched the pencil in his hand stop, and for a guy who was bent on saving the world, Peter seemed uncannily mortified by her innocent question.

“Wh…why do you ask?” One eyebrow shot up, and he looked at her suspiciously. Claire had to admit, having Peter as her uncle was cool – but in other ways, it was creepy and it sucked. He saved her life, dammit, and before she even knew about Nathan Petrelli as her bio-dad and Angela Petrelli as her dark horse grandmother, she had indulged herself in horribly unrealistic yet risqué fantasies of the man who saved her from getting her brain cut out.

It took a few days of endless mantras of “ews” to get that out of her system, but now she was content to regard him as kindred spirit. After witnessing Nathan and Peter’s many exchanges, it seemed the concept was natural in the Petrelli family.

He brought her out of her thoughts when he cleared his throat, and Claire shrugged. “Just wondering.” She made a dare to why he was really nervous. “Or boyfriend?”

“What? No, Claire, come on,” he quickly dismissed. “I had a girlfriend…” His voice trailed off gloomily. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He shook his head and went back to drawing.

Claire sighed. “Sorry,” she said weakly, and she slumped into the cushion of the couch. Peter turned to her and gave her a crooked grin.

“It’s okay.” Their eyes met and they smiled at each other for a long second. “Why’d you think I was gay anyway?” Peter asked perplexed.

Claire’s grin grew wider. “You’re a very sweet guy, like more emotional than your brother.”

“Are you calling me feminine?” he asked offended.

Claire tilted her head inquiringly. “Aren’t you?”

“Just because I’m a nurse…” he started, but Claire interrupted.

“Exactly.” Peter rolled his eyes at her.

“Not you too. You sound just like Nathan,” he scoffed.

Claire’s grin disappeared, and he immediately realized he insulted her. Claire couldn’t help it. She just didn’t trust Nathan yet, at least not as much as Peter did.

“Well,” she said, the humor gone from her tone. “I _am_ his daughter after all.”

Peter stopped teasing her.

 

 

 

_III. West_

Claire admitted that West was sort of cute. His smile wasn’t as nice as Zach’s, and his eyes were definitely not as gorgeous as Peter’s.

She was just glad to find someone like _her_ , even though at times she wondered if West was really operating with a full deck. She spent a scary amount of time thinking about his relationship with his parents, and how he came to believe that using powers to get back at people was a good thing.

She knew they were doomed once he told her stories about being abducted by an evil man with horned rimmed glasses, and though West’s delinquency wasn’t exactly her forte, the strong desire to defy her father at every turn had become more and more appealing.

Until Claire thought her dad was dead. Until West decided that his philosophy of “be proud of your powers” was just talk and no action.

Claire then realized she was _more_ than someone like West, and her heartbreak was fleeting. Oh, it was there. She still felt the pain, the betrayal, but it didn’t last.

 _It never does_ , she admitted, but she was getting used to it. Claire Bennet was meant for bigger things, and the scary, blindsiding truth was that maybe she would never meet a man strong enough to love her.

She was indestructible and couldn’t die, and despite all the convoluted abilities in the world, she saw the merit in having healing powers people would kill for.

 _Someone already has tried._ But Claire didn’t want to think of him, and she certainly didn’t want to think about guys anymore.

West flew away, Peter was impossible, and Zach didn’t really remember her. The best of her teenage years were behind her, and her heart still stung hollow.

Maybe she was meant to be alone.

 

 

_IV. Elle_

Claire Bennet sat next to Elle Bishop on a plane on their way to Pinehurst, and suddenly she realized how pinnacle this moment was.

Elle was shorting out badly, and the people on the plane were in danger because Elle couldn’t keep her powers under control. She looked weak, vulnerable, and Claire didn’t think Elle even resembled the same woman who she first met, the confident Company girl who had it out for her. This Elle actually needed her help.

She took the woman’s hand and the let the shocks stream through her system, and damn, it hurt the first time but after a few seconds, Claire got used to it and didn’t think it was half bad.

It actually started to feel good. She squeezed Elle’s small hand tightly in hers, and Elle held back her own pain, dumping the electricity into Claire’s body. Claire reminded herself to breathe or she’d start to feel dizzy. Soon, the crisis was averted, and they both looked at each other relieved. Claire wondered idly if they could have been friends in another life.

“Do you mind?” Elle snarled at her uncomfortably, and Claire dropped the woman’s hand, looking away and hiding her embarrassment. Claire tried not to meet her gaze because every time she did, Elle would glance at her awkwardly.

She felt like a fool and tried to forget about holding Elle’s hand and helping her at all. Claire concentrated on Pinehurst now, not on the notion that being with Elle had caused a small epiphany.

Maybe it wasn’t men that Claire was destined to love.

 

 

 

_V. Alex_

The house was silent after Claire’s mom went to bed, and Lyle was holed up in his room, probably listening to his iPod or falling asleep to his TV. Claire got dressed in the bathroom, and she crept softly back into her room and saw a head poke out of her closet.

“Need anything?” she whispered.

“A new identity? Maybe,” Alex answered softly, staring at her as he reclined on his side and watched her from the closet.

Claire frowned at him. “I’m sorry,” she said sympathetically. Normally, she’d follow up with a sarcastic remark, but she was really scared for Alex and people like them. More than anything she wanted to help him as much as she could. She couldn’t reap the benefits of special treatment by herself. It just wasn’t fair.

That and she liked Alex, probably more than she should. Perhaps liking Alex was proof that her thoughts about Elle had just been nonsense. And yes, she did revisit those thoughts, though lately not as often. She was more concerned about staying alive and keeping away from government seizure.

“I can sneak some cookies,” she offered. She turned the light off but she caught his smile before it went dark.

“Claire, it’s alright,” he said. “You’ve done enough.” She didn’t miss the sadness in his voice. She climbed into bed and brought the covers over her chest. She stared at the ceiling.

“I wish there was more I could do,” she said, but Alex didn’t answer her. She turned her head, and she heard his steady breathing. He was already asleep.

 

 

_VI. Sylar_

She could still feel his hands on her, his fingers combing through her hair and his breath warming the side of her neck. She felt his voice echo in her head and laugh in her dreams.

She’d wake up cold, frantically looking under her sheets to see if she was wearing a wedding dress. She’d dip her fingers through her pajamas, feeling the nausea wash over her body when she remembered where his hands were, haunting her in an endless nightmare of brutal copulations.

 _The future isn’t set in stone, Claire,_ she said to herself. She just had to keep convincing herself she was right.

Sylar was dead, but some nights she still woke sick to her stomach when she thought of him, touching her and whispering in her ear. She’d sob in her sheets and soak her pillows with snot and tears, and then she’d get up and puke again. For an indestructible girl, it was amazing how the darkness in her mind made her feel so ill.

At least he was dead. Very dead, but she couldn’t figure out why his burning body in front of her did not quell the nightmares or erase the anxiety. What were her dreams really telling her?

That maybe Sylar wasn’t really dead?

 

 

_VII. Alex_

“You need to come back,” she demanded, and Alex chuckled on the other line of her phone.

“I’m coming back tomorrow; remember that big party?” he said. “What’s the matter anyway? You act like you can’t wait to see me.”

“I can’t. I’m going to tackle you right when you get off the plane. I can’t take it anymore. My grandmother, my mom, and my two dads (snort) are driving me insane,” she said. “Maybe I should ditch college and run away …”

“Claire, come on, it’s not that bad. You’ll love it,” he said encouragingly, but she didn’t seem to listen.

“Maybe we should have sex. Right away. I’m so tense. We’ll go to the ocean.”

“Oh my God, now you’re driving _me_ insane,” Alex cried after an awkward pause. Claire wondered about the look on his face. Damned technology.

“I just… I can’t handle this anymore. I…”

“What is it?” he asked worriedly. “Everything’s okay now, isn’t it? The government isn’t after us, and you don’t have to save anyone anymore, Ms. Tubman.”

Claire sighed. “There’s something I haven’t told you. Something bad.” Before Alex could respond, Claire spilled out everything from her head and heart about Sylar. “You remember that serial killer going around, cutting open people’s heads and stealing their powers? Please tell me you know, Alex, even if it was more underground news.”

“Yeah, I heard about that… didn’t that guy die?”

“Well yeah, but… he took my powers, just like he did everyone else’s. The only thing is I survived from it. He spared me, I guess. Maybe I couldn’t die anyway,” she said.

“Oh my God,” he said, and Claire heard soft static on the phone in their quick silence.

“Yeah, well I saw him again before he died while you were in Albuquerque. He… God this is going to sound really fucking crazy but he creepily asked me to be his … you know, bride of Frankenstein or something, and well, it’s been screwing with my head ever since he died,” she said.

Alex inhaled a heavy breath. “Damn, wow, Claire. That is… I’m sorry to hear it.” He seemed at a loss of words, but Claire couldn’t blame him. Who could say anything comforting with a crazy experience like that? “Well at least he’s dead.”

“Right…” Claire said, though she still had a weird feeling about that.

“So it’s not really about college, but about that?” Alex asked.

“Well, it’s about school too. Alex, I think… I think he repelled me from men forever,” she confessed.

“What! Why do you think that?” he asked surprised.

“I met my new roommate at orientation. She’s…she’s really pretty, and cool, and smart, and though I’ve been asked out by plenty of hot guys lately, I’m not interested in them at all. I … have thoughts about her.”

“This from a girl who just demanded sex from me,” Alex noted.

“Yes, don’t you see? I need it, and from you only. You can make me forget about the crazy nasty dreams and the weird unexpected thoughts about a girl I’ve only met once, and you can cure me… of whatever this is,” Claire said.

“Claire, serial killers don’t turn you gay. That’s just impossible, and if you are, I seriously doubt _I_ could cure you. You probably just haven’t had a female friend in a long time and now that there’s no danger and no one for you to save, you’re just not used to the downtime. It’ll be good for you,” he pointed out.

“What, the sex?”

“No, her friendship! Seriously, we’re going to talk about this when I get back. I promise.” She made a noise to say something, but he interrupted. “And we’re not having sex… well, not if you don’t…want…Look I want you to be in your right mind if that’s going to happen… between us,” he stammered.

Claire laughed a little. “Admit it, you won’t be able to resist.”

Alex groaned into the phone. “I think you’re worried for nothing. If anything, you’re perfectly normal, and though this might be a stretch, you may just be bi-sexual, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Fine,” she said. “You’re right, but you know, if I am bisexual, I’d like to point out that we can still have sex.”

“Claire…”

“What? Unless you don’t like me like that,” Claire said dejectedly.

“Heh, well no, that’s not it,” Alex said nervously, and she knew he wouldn’t be able agree with that. “It’s just… you know you really know how to mess with a guy’s mind, don’t you?”

Claire snorted into the phone. “You’re the first guy to say that to me, at least, the first who’s mattered.”

She heard his quick laugh and his tone turned tender. “Well, I mean it. You’re amazing, Claire Bennet.”

“Hrmm…” she said agreeably and wished he could see her wicked grin. Claire wasn’t going to give up that easily. “Alex?”

“Yeah?” he said, his mood becoming lighter.

Then, she lowered her voice – sensually – and ended their call with a promise. “I’ll get the condoms ready for tomorrow.”

THE END  



End file.
